Skype is shutting down after 20 years. A look back at 8 other beloved apps from the 2000s that no longer exist.
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06 May 2025 02:16:32 am.
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Skype’s homepage in 2011. (David Loh/Reuters)
Key Takeaways
Microsoft shut down Skype, the internet-based phone and video call service, 14 years after acquiring it for $8.5 billion, offering users the option to integrate their accounts with Microsoft Teams or export their data ahead of the shutdown.
Vine, a short-form video hosting platform acquired by Twitter for $30 million, was discontinued in 2016 due to the lack of a direct monetization feature for creators, leading many to switch to other platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Microsoft shut down Skype, the internet-based phone and video call service, on Monday, 14 years after the tech company bought it for $8.5 billion.
Microsoftannounced in Februarythat Skype users could opt into integrating their accounts with Microsoft Teams for free or export all of their data from Skype ahead of the shutdown. Microsoft Teams offers one-on-one and group calls similar to Skype and its more contemporary competitors Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Google Meet.
“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms,said in a blog post.
Skype originally launched in 2003 and quickly gained popularity as an option for users to make free voice calls over the internet to anyone in the world. Three years later, after it was acquired by eBay, Skypelaunched video calling, making video calls more accessible to the general public.
While Skype has been losing users for the last few years, going from around40 million in March 2020to around36 million in February 2023, Skype fans were still saddened by Microsoft’s announcement. Several commemorated their fond memories of the platform on social media, sharingclips of Skype’s distinct call soundandvisuals of how the program’s look evolvedover the last 20 years.
In honor of Skype’s demise, we look back at some other beloved apps and social platforms from the 2000s and 2010s that are no longer with us.
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Vine (2012-2017)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">The Vine app homepage in 2013. (Jens Büttner/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Vine was a short-form video hosting platform where users could film and upload clips of six seconds or less that would then play on a loop. Four months after it was founded, the company was bought by Twitter for$30 million.
After Vine launched as an iOS and Android app in early 2013, it became themost-used video sharing appon the market. By 2015, the app had200 millionmonthly active users.
The problem with Vine — and why competing platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram Reels went on to succeed — was that itdid not have a way for users to earn moneydirectly through their videos. Afterconfronting Vine executivesover the lack of profitability in 2016, many top-performing Vine creators started turning to other video platforms to make money.
Finally, in October 2016, Vine announced it wasgoing to be discontinued. But several major Vine creators are still in the spotlight thanks to their start on the app, including YouTubers David Dobrik and Jake and Logan Paul, as well as pop singer Shawn Mendes.
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AIM (1997-2017)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">AOL Instant Messenger. (Screenshot: Wayback Machine)</figcaption></figure>
AOL Instant Messenger (more commonly known as AIM) was an instant messaging service that allowed people to message each other in real time and for free. You would make a custom username and could set “away” messages, build out profiles with song lyrics and quotes, and send messages to other AIM users at any time, even if they weren’t online at the same time you were. There were alsochatbotsthat users could message to get stock updates, weather information or dating advice.
By 2000, there were61 million AIM users; by the mid-2000s, AIM had the largest share of the instant messaging market in North America. It also helped launch much of the internet lingo we still use today, such as “LOL” (“laugh out loud”) and “BRB” (“be right back”).
Soon, other tech companies started launching their own, more advanced messaging platforms, like Google Chat.
In December 2017,AIM shared its last away messageand announced it would be discontinued, saying, “The way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed.”
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MSN Messenger (1999-2014)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">MSN Messenger. (Screenshot: Wayback Machine)</figcaption></figure>
Microsoft developed MSN Messenger to compete with AIM. It also required users to create unique usernames and allowed them to write their own statuses and bios. By the mid-2000s, it had evolved into Windows Live Messenger, which, like Skype, started offering audio and video calls as options instead of just instant messaging.
In 2009, Microsoft reported that its messaging app had330 million active users.But three years later, in 2012, the company announced it would beretiring Windows Live Messengerand replacing it with Skype.
Friendster (2002-2015)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">How the Friendster homepage looked in 2011. (Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Friendster is considered one of the original social network sites, predating Facebook (2004) and MySpace (2003), where people could connect with other users, share content on their profiles and message each other. It also helped people find out about local events and up-and-coming bands and bond with strangers over shared interests.
By 2008, Friendster had more than 85 million members worldwide —most of them basedin the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. It was the first global online social network thatsupported different languages on a single internet domain, so people from all over the world could speak to each other.
But in 2009, it started experiencing performance issues andwas sold to MOL Global, a payments company in Malaysia, for $39 million. In 2010, MOL sold the intellectual property behind Friendster to Facebook for $40 million. Five years later, the siteshut downfor good.
Picnik (2005-2013)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">Picnik. (Screenshot: Wayback Machine)</figcaption></figure>
Picnik was an online photo editing service that allowed users to edit photos, add filters and text, and even combine multiple images for free.
In 2010, Picnik wasacquired by Googleand, two years later,announcedthat it would be moving its photo editing tools toGoogle Photosrather than operating as a separate website.
After the 2012 announcement, one of the site’s original employees, Lisa Conquergood,said, “Sixty million voices cried out when Picnik died.”
Omegle (2009-2023)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">Omegle. (Screenshot: Wayback Machine)</figcaption></figure>
Omegle was a website-based online chat service where users didn’t need to create an account to speak to people. The site wouldrandomly pair peoplein one-on-one instant messaging conversations. In 2010, it evolved into pairing random strangers invideo chat conversations.
Omegle was created by then 18-year-old Leif K-Brooks while he was living at home with his parents. Without any marketing, the site was getting around 150,000 daily visitors within a month after it launched. By the mid-2010s, there were reportedlyaround 15,000 people on Omegleat any given time.
But in 2019, Omegle faceda $22 million lawsuitfrom a teenager in Oregon who blamed the platform for making her a victim of child sex exploitation. As a result, in late 2023, K-Brooksannouncedhe would be shutting down Omegle because of the stress and expense.
“Over the years, people have used Omegle to explore foreign cultures; to get advice about their lives from impartial third parties; and to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation,” K-Brooks wrote. “Unfortunately, there are also lowlights. Virtually every tool can be used for good or for evil, and that is especially true of communication tools, due to their innate flexibility.”
Formspring (2009-2013)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">Formspring. (Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Before Reddit’s AMAs, Formspring gave anonymous internet users the chance to ask strangers anything they wanted. At its peak, there were over 30 million registered users and over 4 billion posts on the platform.
When Formspring’s founder and CEO, Ade Olonoh,announcedthat it would be shutting down in 2013,Forbes reportedit had to do with failing to develop a revenue model that could compete with similar platforms, such as Quora and Tumblr.
Ask.fm (2010-2024)
<figure class="relative mb-4"><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5">Ask.fm. (Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Ask.fm was a question-and-answer social network that launched to compete with Formspring. Ask.fm users would have to create a profile, but they could still be anonymous, and, in 2021, users became able to communicate privately over direct messages.
By 2013, the company reached65 million registered usersand was seeing around 190 million unique visitors per month.
Over the years, Ask.fm kept rebranding but eventually announced it would be shutting down in December 2024.
“Unfortunately, our ‘Ask and Answer’ platform no longer meets current needs,” theannouncement said, referring to social media platforms like X and Reddit.
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